


Who's Gonna Save the World Tonight?

by SynchronizedFireflies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 5x20, Explosions, Hurt Oliver Queen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Torture, season 5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-01-26 12:29:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12557404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynchronizedFireflies/pseuds/SynchronizedFireflies
Summary: Alternate ending for season 5. This starts from Oliver and Felicity hanging above the fan in the end of 5x20.I suck at summaries, but enjoy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So once again I got a stupid idea in my head and I just started writing. I didn't really know where it was headed, but I'm figuring it out. 
> 
> Title from Swedish House Mafia's song Save the World.

“If you don’t make this Oliver…” Diggle let the question hang in the air.

“I will,” Oliver assured him and pushed the pessimistic thought from his mind. He took a deep breath, leveled out his head, and launched himself away from the wall. He managed the perfect length and Dig just snagged his arm. And for a moment, relief pushed out the pain. But then he felt Felicity slipping.

Her arms loosened from around his neck and she slid down his back. He grabbed her arm and the three of them dangled high above the spinning fan.

“You’re going to have to drop me,” Felicity said. “You have to let me go. You have to go.”

Oliver shook his head. A fall from this height would kill her, let alone the large fan rapidly spinning at the bottom.

“Curtis cut the vents!” John screamed and a moment later the fan’s spinning slowed. Relief coursed through Oliver, but he still refused to drop Felicity. Oliver worked against the pain and slowly pulled Felicity up, over his shoulder and put her hand over John’s. She latched on tight just as his adrenaline faded away. Oliver slipped from John’s grasp and all he could see was Felicity’s terrified face as the world faded to black.

…

John felt one hand grab onto his just as the other one disappeared. He looked down just in time to see Oliver’s body slam into the ground with a sickening crunch. “Oliver!” he screamed. But Oliver remained unmoving on the ground below.

“We have to get him!” Felicity yelled. “Dig, you have to go get him!”

“We can’t. I’m sorry. We don’t have enough rope. And Oliver would have my head if I let anything happen to you.”

“We can’t leave him behind! He would never leave any of us behind! We can’t abandon him!”

Then Curtis’ voice cut through her shouting. “Guys, you have to get out of there. I didn’t have time to remove all the methane and I can’t turn the vents on with Oliver laying on top of it. It’s going to ignite soon.”

Felicity let out a sob. “Pull us up!” Diggle shouted and he glanced once more at Oliver’s still body. “I’m so sorry, brother,” he whispered as Rene pulled the two up. Once on solid ground again, Dig picked Felicity up bridal style and the team raced out of the building. Felicity fought them the whole time, but eventually she began to tire as she realized it was futile.

They rejoined Lyla and Curtis across the street just as the ground began to shake and the building collapsed in on itself. Dig covered his eyes as dust and debris flew everywhere. Finally things began to calm down and he glanced back at their base of operations.

“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Dig said, surveying the damage. The building hadn’t actually completely collapsed though it was definitely structurally unsound.

“Luckily, I got most of the methane out,” Curtis said, “so the explosion was much more subdued.”

“The cops are going to be here soon,” Diggle said. “We need to leave.” The distant sirens helped prove his point even if they couldn’t tell if they were coming here.

“What about Oliver?” Felicity choked out.

They all exchanged a look and Felicity shook her head. “No, he can’t be dead. He can’t be. He can’t be.” She shook her head as tears came to eyes. Tears burned John’s eyes too, blurring his vision, but he picked up Felicity and the group took off.

They climbed into Lyla’s van. “There’s an ARGUS base close by we can head to.”

Diggle nodded. “Ok.” The events of the last few minutes had made them forget about their tension.

Five minutes later, the van arrived at ARGUS and Lyla ushered them through security. Curtis and Felicity quickly disappeared, following some agents who promised all of the best equipment so Felicity would be up and walking again.

“I have to go,” Dinah said. “I just got a call about a ‘mysterious’ explosion at Mayor Queen’s old campaign office.”

Dig nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. “Keep us updated. Let us know if—” He paused, took a deep breath, and tried to be optimistic. “When you find him,” he finished. Dinah nodded, but Dig could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

“There’s a car out back you can take,” Lyla said. “Follow me.” The two women walked off together, leaving Dig with Rene.

“You good Rene?” Dig asked.

“Hu- what- uh, yeah, I’m good. Just scared I guess. Oliver’s dead isn’t he?” Rene asked, meeting Diggle’s eyes. Dig sighed.

“I don’t know. That man has lived through a lot and I refuse to believe that this is what kills him.”

“But a fall like that... not to mention he already had a hole in his back.”

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know.”

The two settled into an uneasy silence, waiting for Lyla and Curtis and Felicity. Then, Diggle’s phone started to ring.

“Yes?” he asked, rather harshly.

_“Jesus, calm down. It’s Lance.”_

“Sorry Lance.”

_“Yeah, yeah. What happened? I don’t know if you heard, but your base blew up.”_

“Yeah, we know.”

_“Are you all okay? I tried calling Oliver first but he didn’t answer.”_

Diggle drew in a sharp breath. “We’re all okay, but Oliver… he got caught in the blast. Dinah went to check it out, but we haven’t heard anything yet.”

_“Was it Prometheus?”_

“Probably, but we really don’t know anything.”

_“Alright, well, I’m headed down there now. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”_

“Thanks Lance.”

He hung up just as Lyla returned. “Was that Dinah?” she asked.

“No,” John replied, shaking his head, “it was Lance. He’s going to go see if he can find anything out.” Lyla nodded and John was glad they were talking again. Perhaps he had been too hard on her. Perhaps—

Ringing threw off his train of thought and he quickly pulled his phone out. It was Dinah.

“Dinah, did you find him? Is he alive?”

_“We haven’t found him yet, but I think you should come down here.”_

“Alright, I’ll be there soon.”

He hung up and returned his phone to his pocket. “Dinah wants me down there.”

“I’m coming with you,” Lyla said and Diggle nodded.

“Alright.”

“I’m coming too,” Rene said. Dig nodded again and the three headed towards the van they had taken there. He pulled out his phone again as Lyla started the van and texted Curtis.

**Diggle: Me, Lyla, and Rene are going back to the base to meet up with Dinah. How’s Felicity?**

**Curtis: Felicity’s good, up and walking again and it’s lyla, rene and I**

**Diggle: What?**

**Curtis: Grammatical speaking, you should say lyla, rene, and i not me, rene, and lyla**

**Diggle: Just make sure your fix for Felicity is permanent.**

**Curtis: Yes, supper.**

**Curtis: Goddamn autocorrect yes sir.**

Diggle returned his phone to his pocket and sighed. Curtis always got talkative when he was nervous and this apparently transferred to texting as well. It wasn’t long before the van rolled to a stop and Dig hopped out, rushing to find Dinah.

She met them at the edge of the scene. “They just entered the shaft,” she said, giving them an update. “But it was very blocked up, so it might be awhile until they reach Oliver…” She didn’t voice what they were all thinking. _Assuming he’s still alive._

Finally, over two hours later, a young man rushed over to Dinah. “Ma’am, we’ve reached the end of the shaft.”

“And?” Dinah said, impatiently.

“And nothing. It was empty.”


	2. Chapter 2

“What do you mean it was empty?” Dinah said, shocked.

“I mean, it was empty. We got all the debris out and there was nothing down there. I don’t know why you were so interested in it.” The man looked like he had more to say, but another woman approached them.

“Dinah, I think there’s something you should see.” Dinah and Diggle exchanged glances and they quickly followed the woman towards the burned building. A couple people threw Dig some odd glances, but most left him alone after seeing Dinah. The trio entered the building and Diggle gasped. The room was unrecognizable. Everything had turned to ash. A thick, black layer of grime covered it all. But the woman passed by all that, disinterested, and led them to the same tunnel that Diggle had stood in not even four hours before.

“Here,” the woman said, “put these harnesses on.” Dig and Dinah quickly pulled on the harness, desperate to get to whatever the woman wanted to show them.

“Follow me,” the woman said and stepped off the the edge. John and Dinah exchanged a glance then followed the woman off edge and into the shaft. The harnesses slowly lowered them making Diggle see Oliver’s body falling all over again, slamming into the ground with a harsh impact. Dig’s feet touched the ground and he shook away the thought. The woman beckoned them over and they knelt down to see a dark stain on the ground.  

“It’s blood,” Dinah said.

“Exactly,” the woman nodded. “And it looks like someone was dragged over to this wall and then then the trail disappears. There was someone down here when this building exploded and I guess they must’ve climbed out of here or something. But whoever it was lost an insane amount of blood. I don’t think anyone could’ve done anything after that.” But Dinah was barely listening anymore. Oliver was alive. He had to be.

…

“Why isn't he awake yet?” An irate voice growled.

“Maybe because you dropped a building on him.” A second voice cut in. This voice had an accent making it sound more intimidating. “With the extent of his injuries… Well, you’re lucky you he’s still alive

...

“Fucking wake up. You’re not supposed to die yet. I’m not done with you yet.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You were only mostly crushed. Wake up. You still need to suffer.”

“WAKE UP!” This time, the voice shot through head with a new determination. His ribs felt a sudden sharp pain and he wanted to curl up, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. The pain was there again… and again and again. “Wake up!” And finally the the pain forced his eyes wide open to reveal… nothing. The room was pitch black and he couldn’t even see whoever was continuously kicking his ribs. He tried to sit up, but once again, the pain forced him to stay still.

“Finally, you’re awake. I’ve been waiting.” The voice began to talk and it sounded very familiar.

“Adrian?” Oliver asked, praying he was wrong.

“That’s right, Oliver,” Adrian said as he punched Oliver in the face.

 _How can he even see me in here?_ Oliver thought as yet another fist slammed into his face. “What do you want, Adrian?” Oliver asked, managing to push past the pain and put a little malice in his voice.

“Well, you see, I was going to do this in a much different way. After all, I’ve already tortured you. But, complications arise. Apparently you can’t get out of a simple situation without fucking it all up.” Oliver hated how the voice seemed to echo around him and Adrian’s footfalls were the only indication of were he was. “So, I got word that your building had exploded and you were dead, or, at least, dying. Like I said, I had a whole long and complicated plan, but this will have to do. You claim not to care about the pain. You will when I’m done with you.”

Then silence filled the dark room.

A sudden impact forced his head to the side. A kick to the ribs had him on his side gasping. Another kick had him rolling across the ground in a pathetic attempt to get away.

“What are you doing?!” Adrian yelled, his voice bouncing around the room only increasing Oliver’s unadmitted fear. “Fight back!”

Finally Oliver managed to stand up, but the only the darkness greeted him. _Why haven’t my eyes adjusted yet?_ Oliver desperately thought. He still couldn’t even see the fist as it swung, knocking him to the ground again. All his injuries, ones he didn’t even know he had, were jarred as his back hit the ground. He involuntarily cried out and Adrian continued to beat him for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Chase left him alone.

Oliver sat in the dark room, curled up. His whole body was throbbing and then the events of the previous night hit him: the EMP blast, falling in the elevator shaft, carrying Felicity through the tunnels, the blood loss, passing out, Diggle coming to help, Felicity almost falling, falling. He’d been beaten before but this was new; that fall should’ve killed him. But he was still alive, alive and in the clutches of Adrian Chase.

Oliver began to cough, curling up even more as the coughs racked his body. He tried to stop, but he couldn’t, no matter how much it hurt. A metallic taste rushed through his mouth and Oliver spit blood on the ground before he could choke on it. Finally, the pain became too much and the blood loss brought him under.

…

“Oliver, Oli-ver.” Adrian’s singsong voice broke through the heavy layer that had previously made Oliver pass out. “Wake up, Oliver!” His voice was more serious now and Oliver finally sat up.

“What do you want, Adrian?” he asked, angrily.

Adrian just laughed, a horrible sound that bounced around the dark room. “You still impress me, Oliver. No matter how long you’ve been suffering or how much pain you’re in, you still manage to be annoying. But I don’t have time for that now. There’s someone here who’d like to talk to you.”

A door banged open and, in the dark, Oliver couldn't tell who it was, but he knew his life was just about to get a whole lot worse.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending's a bit cliché, but... 
> 
> Who do you think the other person is?


	3. Chapter 3

Diggle, Lyla, Dinah, Curtis, Felicity, and Rene sat around a large table. Yesterday, they had left ARGUS after staying there for three days and they had all stayed with Felicity, still shaken up from the events of the week. 

There was still no leads where Oliver might be and, at this point, they were pretty sure they were just looking for a body. 

“Okay, so…” Rene started. “Either Oliver climbed out himself, or somebody pulled him out.”

“But if he climbed out why hasn't he contacted us?” Dinah asked. “And if somebody pulled him out, then they don’t want anyone to find him.”

“But who would want to take him?” Felicity wondered.

“Anyone looking to make a quick buck,” Rene replied. 

“But no one could’ve known he was down there unless...” Dinah paused as she was struck with a new idea. 

“Unless Adrian took him.” Diggle finished her thought. “We need to find him now.” Everyone nodded and jumped up, racing around with a new sense of purpose. 

“Adrian must've taken him through the back and it was probably right after the building exploded,” Diggle said. “Are there any security cameras?” 

“Uh,” Felicity stuttered as she spun around to face her computer. “It looks like all those in a close radius were knocked out, but I might be able to find them on one later. It might take me awhile though.” Her typing filled the room as Diggle moved to Dinah, Rene, and Curtis. 

“Can you hit the streets? I know it’s a long shot, but see if you can find out where Chase is hiding.” Dinah, Rene, and Curtis nodded and quickly disappeared. They didn’t bother putting on their suits because it was still day and they were on something of a clock. Diggle ran back over to Felicity and the two tried to figure out the cameras.

Two hours later, the trio returned. Diggle was standing over Oliver’s bow and Felicity looked like she was going to fall asleep at her computer.”You guys find anything?” Diggle asked, his voice sluggish. 

Dinah shook her head. “What about you two?”

“Zero, zilch, nada,” Felicity said from her spot behind the desk. “Over two hours of work and we’ve haven’t found anything. I’ve tried facial recognition for both Adrian and Oliver and there’s nothing.” Diggle groaned and slammed his head on the table. 

Dinah rushed over to him and pulled him up. “That’s not gonna get us anywhere.”

“Oliver’s been missing for four days. FOUR DAYS!” Diggle yelled. “I shouldn’t have dropped him. He never would’ve done the same.” Then an awkward silence fell.

“I’ve got it!” Felicity yelled, breaking through the silence and causing everyone to stare at her. “I’m sorry. Was that a moment?”

“You’ve got what?” Diggle said, ignoring her. 

“I found Oliver.” 

Curtis, Rene, and Dinah rushed over to the screen in time to see Adrian slowly dragging Oliver down a dark alley. Then someone else approached the two and pushed Adrian away who dropped Oliver to the ground. Then the man picked Oliver up and swung him over his shoulder. The man turned back to Adrian and Felicity paused the video.

“Slade,” she whispered.

…

The door slammed open and heavy footfalls echoed around the room. The stranger walked around Oliver, each round getting closer until the stranger planted a foot on his ribs and slammed Oliver against the wall. His head spun and Oliver spit blood onto the floor (at least, he was pretty sure it was blood). Nausea racked his body and he tried to throw up, but instead he was just stuck dry heaving until another kick knocked back to the ground. As soon as his body hit the floor, he cried out in pain and almost passed out. He wished he had passed out.

“Alright,” Adrian said and Oliver could hear the smile in his voice, “I’ll leave you two alone.” Once again, Oliver heard the door open and shut, leaving him behind in the damp room. 

“Finally,” the stranger started. “I thought he’d never leave.”

“Slade?” Oliver asked, unable to keep the fear from his voice. 

“That’s right, kid.” Another kick was delivered to his side albeit, this one with noticeably less force. Then Slade picked him up and punched him across the face. Somehow, in the back of his mind, Oliver knew this wasn’t even half of Slade’s strength, but with all of his injuries added up, he passed out. 

…

“Oliver… Oliver. Oliver, please wake up.” 

Oliver opened his eyes and saw Shado standing over him. 

“Shado,” he asked, but then shook his head. “No you’re dead. This isn’t real. You’re dead.”

Shado nodded, honest as ever. “Yeah, I’m still dead, and you’re getting close. What happened Oliver? What are you doing?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t remember. I was in the bunker and there was an EMP blast. Felicity and I were stuck. I tried to save her, but I fell. I woke up here.”

“And where is here?” Shado asked. It was that statement that led Oliver to true despair. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there or what was going to happen to him. “Your injuries are getting worse by the second. You need to figure this out before it kills you.” 

She began to fade away, first her feet and it quickly rising to her face. “Shado! No!” Oliver screamed. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t be,” Shado replied, a sad smile fading away. “I’ve been gone for far too long.” They she disappeared completely. 

Oliver shot up, breathing heavily. The darkness had returned and Shado was gone. “You passed out, kid. What happened?” Slade said and Oliver could hear the mocking in his voice. A fist to the stomach caused him to double over and he could feel Slade’s face next to his.

“I’m going to get you out of here, kid.” Another fist to the across the face. “You don’t have any reason to trust me.” A kick that sent him to the ground. Slade picked him up by the collar. “I have to wait until Chase’s guard is down.” Oliver was so out of it that he was barely understanding the man’s words. He groaned and then screamed as Slade dropped him to the ground. 

“Any last requests, Mr. Queen?” Slade asked mockingly, returning to the façade set up for Chase. 

“Yeah,” Oliver said, his words slurring. “Would you turn the lights on?” 

“The lights are on.”


	4. Chapter 4

Slade exited the room, leaving the kid alone again. Adrian turned off the lights because it supposedly “instilled fear in Oliver”. Slade had to admit it was working, just not at all like Adrian thought it would.

“You okay, Slade?” Adrian asked and Slade spun around to face him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Slade chuckled, but it was a humorless laugh. _I think you took away Oliver’s sight._ “I just didn’t realize how much my hate for the kid had grown,” he said instead. Adrian nodded and smiled as if this was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

“C’mon,” Adrian said, “let’s let him stew a bit.” Slade smiled, but he still felt like he had to throw up. The two left Oliver behind a heavy metal door in the dark with no sight.

Two weeks ago, Adrian had come to Lian Yu. Slade had heard him outside his cell then heard the guard choke on a scream. “Who’s there?” he yelled and Adrian revealed himself, fully dressed out as Prometheus with only his mask down.

“Who are you?” Slade asked.

Adrian had just ignored him and replied with his own question. “How badly do you want to see Oliver Queen suffer?”

Slade buried his head in his hands and shook his head. “I have plans,” Adrian continued. “I can get you out of here if you promise to help me.”

At first, Slade had refused but he quickly realized Adrian was going to do this one way or another. The kid’s best chance at survival was if he was there to help. “Alright,” Slade said and he had walked out of his cell, past dead guards and into Star City.

Originally, Slade didn’t believe Oliver or his friends would allow him to be taken, but even from his spot three blocks away from the “Arrow Cave”, Slade had heard the explosion. He raced down the street and met Adrian about a half a mile from Oliver’s base. Oliver was lying on the ground behind him, unconscious and bleeding profusely.

“What happened?” Slade asked.

“His building blew up. I guess it wasn’t up to code.” But the smirk on his face told Slade all he needed to know. He almost took the kid there, but then he noticed a knife in Chase’s hand, ready to kill the kid if need be. Obviously, Chase didn’t trust him anymore than he trusted Chase.

Chase picked up Oliver’s hands and slowly began to drag him back the way Slade had come.

“What are you doing?”

Adrian looked up, exasperated. “Not all of us can be as strong as you.”

Even without the mirakuru, Slade was still strong. He shoved Chase out of the way and gently swung the kid up onto his shoulder, being careful not jostle his body too much. It didn’t take too long for them to walk back Adrian’s base.

“Just put him down there,” Adrian had said and pointed into a damp room.

“Shouldn’t we treat his wounds first?” Slade asked. Adrian looked at him sideways and Slade hastily added, “So he doesn’t die before we’re done with him.”

“Whatever, just take care of him. Don’t let him die… yet.” Adrian left him and the kid alone. Slade quickly stripped off Oliver’s shirt, wincing when burns that had fused the shirt to his skin ripped off, leaving behind small scrapes. A large wound in his back was covered in blood and appeared to have been previously stitched.

“What were you doing, kid?” Slade began to talk to himself. He re-stitched the wound and examined his body for more. Several of his ribs had to be broken and a bone was sticking out through his right arm. He was pretty sure Oliver’s leg was broken too. “I’m sorry,” Slade said. “I can’t do anything for your ribs and I don’t want to make your arm or leg any worse.” The kid had many other small cuts, but only six required stitches. He bandaged up the rest and let Adrian drop him in the cell. Unfortunately, the wound on the back of his head must have blended in with all the other blood and neither of them ever noticed. And now, Slade was afraid that the effects were irreversible.

…

“Slade helped him. Adrian must’ve gotten him off the island,” Felicity growled. Diggle winced. It was amazing how scary someone so small could sound when she was angry.

“We’ll find him,” Diggle said, but she wasn’t listening. She turned intently back to her computer and it was only a couple minutes later when she raised her head, shouting.

“I found him! He’s in a warehouse down by the coast.”

Diggle nodded and turned to the rest of the team. “Suit up.”

It didn’t take too long for them to reach the warehouse, but Diggle was sure they had broken about 20 different traffic laws. The group split up. Curtis and Rene covered the east side of the building while Diggle and Dinah covered the west. Twenty minutes later, they had covered their half of the building and had found nothing.

“Do you have anything over there?” Diggle asked into his comm.

“No,” Curtis’ voice crackled over the comm. “Wait, actually, we might have something. Get over here.” Diggle looked at Dinah and the two quickly ran over to where they had last seen the boys. They found them standing outside a large metal door.

“Think he’s in there?” Rene asked.

“Let’s find out,” Diggle replied and pushed down the handle. The door was, surprisingly and suspiciously, unlocked. A loud clicked echoed through the room as he started to open the door. Diggle entered with his gun up. He made his way to the center of the room while the others checked the dark corners.

There was a large box and on top of it laid a picture. It was almost unrecognizable, but it was definitely Oliver. Blood, vomit, and bruises covered his body. A note was scrawled across the top of the picture. A leader reduced to nothing. A team ready to die. Diggle’s eyes widened in shock as a screen in front of him lit up with a countdown.

_15, 14, 13_

“Run!” Diggle yelled, grabbing the picture and ushering his friends through the door.

_12, 11, 10_

“What’s happening?” Curtis asked, panting as Diggle pulled up alongside him. Diggle didn’t respond.

_9, 8, 7_

Curtis almost tripped and all of them stumbled as the exit came into view.

_6, 5, 4_

They made it out in record time.

_3, 2, 1…_

The blast flung them several feet, and their heavy breathing was the only thing heard besides the crackling fire. “He’s not here, Felicity,” Diggle growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so so so so sorry for such a long wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed. There will be more. For now, let me know what you thought.


End file.
